The Art of Retrogressing To Advance In Your Career

I live in Canada and typically when new immigrants come in, they may have to take what is called a survival job to make ends meet and pay their bills before they can secure a professional job later. Whilst there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, most professionals may feel a bit inferior because they held professional jobs or even senior positions in their home countries before moving.

My friend recently mentioned an experience where she met someone and asked what they did for a living. She noticed from the response that the individual was embarrassed when she answered because of the kind of role they were currently doing in the healthcare industry. Someone also mentioned how their friend on a shift work in a mall in UK spotted an old college acquaintance shopping in the same place. They ran away from their duty post in order not to be embarrassed when discovered by the individual. I found that a little odd, simply because I am a firm believer in dignity in labor. Doing a survival job is better than begging to live. Whilst I may be embarrassed, I will not run away. I won't because I am doing this to be able to meet up with my needs and take care of my family. At that moment, if that is the best I can find myself to do, I will be proud of it.

In the course of your career, you may have to take a junior role, position, pay cut, or even do a job beneath your status to meet immediate needs or for the greater good of your career ambition and growth. Whilst this may feel embarrassing and belittling, it should not be so. Many professionals have taken steps back to successfully advance their careers at a later time or meet a current or long-term objective.

In 2012, 10 years after graduating with my first degree and with about 8 years of work experience in Customer Service and Operations, the organization I worked with at that time collapsed and I found myself without a job. About this time, I also decided to transition to Human Resources. Without sufficient prior experience or even a current job, I took the first HR job I got to launch my HR career. This job paid me thousands of naira less than the salary I started my previous job at 6 years ago but I did not let that sway me. Weeks into the job, when I experienced some unpleasant situations, I was tempted to resign especially since the pay was not necessarily what I wanted, but my mom encouraged me to stay. Thank God I listened to her because, within three months, I was made the HR Manager in that Organisation. The decision to take that role is what kickstarted and propelled my current career in Human Resources which has been quite fulfilling.

?These are some practical things I did to earn a promotion within three months.

• ?I added value- To do this, you will have to go beyond your regular job description and find a problem that the Organisation needs to solve. I identified manual processes and used forms to automate some and also introduced the first HRIS.
• I strategically built relationships within the Organisation- The importance of this is that even if your Line Manager does not quickly notice your worth, someone else could influence your promotion based on what they perceive as the value you bring and they will speak for you when your name comes up.
• I Learnt quickly- No experience is wasted and every learning belongs to you. I read books, asked questions from my teachers, and went above and beyond in my deliverables
• I found people who inspired me- Find someone who knows something more than you or someone who currently lives in your desired state and try to get to know them a little bit. The idea is to learn from them. Add value to them and hopefully get them to mentor you. If this is proving difficult, find online mentors and learn from them.
• Although I did not do this at the time, but build relationships outside the Organization. Whilst I got a quick promotion within the Company, you may need to look outside your current Organization to get your desired promotion. Sometimes, your value is best seen outside your Organization so have that as a concurrent plan The relationships you build outside the Organisation will serve you in terms of external opportunities.
• Set a realistic timeline for the period you will spend on this transitionary phase and have monthly deliverables for certain milestones you hope to achieve within this time frame, Some of the pointers above could be your milestones
• Take care of your mental state by envisioning yourself in your desired phase and speaking positive words about your current phase. Don't look down on yourself, form a pity party, or get discouraged. Keep it moving.

If you remain focused and are resilient, something will give in time.

Advise- For those doing survival jobs or jobs that are more manual in nature in the interim and still desire to land a professional job, the biggest advice I will give is to not forget yourself or your dreams in the haze of making an income or with the frustrations that may come with rejections when applying for professional jobs. It is easy to get comfortable with your earnings since it meets your needs and easier to get discouraged when faced with challenges in your professional job search. Do not give up. Rest, refresh, and try again, and again.

Best wishes